For the remainder of his career, Gunnar Henderson ought to be with the Orioles.
In the bottom of the second inning of Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, with the score tied at one all and the bases loaded, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson hit a 1-0 count off Kutter Crawford 422 feet into the stands to take the lead.
After winning the game 6-1, the Orioles moved to within 1.5 games of the New York Yankees in the American League East.
With his 18th of the season, Henderson’s second career grand slam into right field on Wednesday tied him with Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros for the league lead.
Henderson has contributed significantly to the Orioles’ status as one of baseball’s top teams and their ability to maintain a close game with their division opponent.The American League Rookie of the Year from the previous season is only getting started, but he’s already one of the key players on the Orioles’ team. The soon-to-be 23-year-old is among the many young players that the Orioles have developed over the past few seasons from their farm system.
Gunnar Henderson is one of the most important players on the Orioles’ roster
In 2022, Adley Rutschman was just getting started. Late in the season, Henderson trailed closely behind him, followed by Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg, and Jackson Holliday (for a brief while). Because they were in pre-arbitration, Rutschman and Henderson both had their contracts renewed without an agreement just before the regular season began, according to ESPN.
Henderson will earn $756,200, and Rutschman will earn $760,300. These two will be insignificant compared to what they should ultimately sign. But specifically for this article, we’ll be concentrating on Henderson.
Only a select few who have worn an Orioles uniform before Henderson are performing at a historic pace. In just his 238th professional game, he hit his 50th home run of his career, a tie-breaking grand slam. According to MLB.com, only first baseman Ryan Mountcastle has done that more quickly for the Orioles.
With just three other former Orioles hitting their 50th home run before turning 23, he joined an elite group with his feat. Boog Powell, Eddie Murray, and Manny Machado are among them.
If Henderson keeps up his current pace, he might hit 54 home runs this season, surpassing Chris Davis’ franchise record of 53 established in 2013. Let’s hope that’s all he statistically resembles from Davis if this does turn out to be the case.
Ramón Urías, an infielder with the Orioles, remarked on Wednesday, “It feels like every night he hits a homer.”
Why then haven’t the Orioles placed Gunnar Henderson under contract yet?
People who are familiar with the Orioles are aware that they don’t tend to offer their players rich, long-term contracts. That’s presumably why they had only made four postseason appearances in the last 25 years and hadn’t made one in seven years prior to last season.
However, that was while John Angelos was the owner. The team was sold by the Angelos family earlier this year to billionaire Baltimore native David Rubenstein.
The news that the Angelos family would no longer own the team thrilled Orioles supporters, who thought Rubenstein would truly prioritise producing a winning product on the field. Since this is still a new arrangement, the impact has not yet been fully realised beyond expectations.
Rubenstein has expressed his desire to return a World Series to Baltimore. Fortunately, he possesses numerous essential components to enable that to occur. However, before Henderson’s values surpass the team’s restrictions (whatever those may be at this point), he should definitely start tying up some of his other key players. That way, he can prove to the Orioles faithful that he is a real player and really propel this into reality.
Many of the rising stars of today are signing long-term contracts shortly before turning 23. Just consider Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals. Signing nine-figure contracts puts players in position to stay with their individual teams for extended periods of time when they are at the height of their careers.
With Rutschman, previous ownership has already missed that opportunity. Despite having entered the major leagues at the age of 24, he just turned 26 this season and is in his third full season. The Orioles catcher may not have received the best offer following his first or second season, but he still deserves a better one. Thus, Rubenstein and the Orioles should concentrate on Henderson going ahead.
In addition to ranking tied for the league lead in home runs, Henderson also leads the league in runs scored (42), RBIs (41), and slugging percentage (.584). In 2026, he will appear in arbitration. The previous Rookie of the Year is now entering the American League MVP competition for this season. Rubenstein’s first major step should be to make a deal now for Henderson to keep him an Oriole, even with the MLB’s rookie contract structuring that keeps players on the cheap.
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